A/N: Here is the second of multiple one-shots in the ABF universe. Hope you enjoy!
When it came to their parenting styles, Jillian Gibbs was more afraid of her father. Not physically, because he had never once raised his hand to her in the entire ten years of her life, but the mere look in his eyes was enough to make her fear the threat. Her mother took a more stern approach, it was true, but there was just something hidden in his eyes that made her fear him more. She couldn't explain it, it was just simply the way things were.
The first time Jillian was ever truly afraid of her mother, ironically enough, it had nothing to do with her. She'd just gotten home from school, dutifully following Elisabeth Murphy's instructions to do her homework, smiling at the promise of a snack upon its completion. She loved Elisabeth almost as much as her mother and father, the young woman having literally been in her life since the day she'd been born, and now that she was growing into quite the responsible young lady, she had never disobeyed her.
Today was that exception. Jillian had always been instructed to never open the front door if someone knocked on it, always leaving that to the adult present. Just an hour after her mother had returned from work, there was a loud knock on the front door, and since Elisabeth was cooking dinner, and Mommy was taking a shower, Jillian ran to the door, pulling it open before Elisabeth had time to put down her cutting knife.
The woman standing on the other side was a complete stranger to her, and just as Jillian was about to ask her who she was, Elisabeth appeared behind her, pulling her back.
"You know not to answer the door," she admonished, "Stay behind me."
She eyed the woman on the front porch with suspicion, her eyes taking in every detail, and she frowned.
"May I help you?"
"Yes. I'm here to see my daughter. You can go tell her that."
Elisabeth was more confused than ever, shaking her head, and when she heard Jenny's footsteps on the stairs, she turned. She was holding a towel in her hand, wringing the water from her hair as she walked, and when she noticed the open door, she frowned.
"Elisabeth, who's at the door?"
"Um...this...this woman says that she's—"
"What are you doing here?" Jenny interrupted, her voice colder than Elisabeth or Jillian had ever heard it.
"Well, Jennifer, is that any way to speak to your mother after nearly twelve years? I expected better from you."
"How did you find out where I live?" Jenny asked dangerously.
"That isn't important," Morgan Shepard answered, waving her words away, "You can't hide away with your husband forever. I'm your mother, and I—"
"No. You're not. My mother never existed, as far as I'm concerned. Get the hell off my property before I call the cops, or shoot you myself for trespassing."
"Is that the lesson you want to teach your daughter, Jennifer? My granddaughter? I have a right to see her. You've kept her away from me long enough, and she—"
"She's been better off for it. I told you to leave, now please do it. I've given you fair warning."
Morgan seemed to consider her for a moment, and finally nodded, taking a step back, and as she made her way to the steps, she turned, fixing Jenny with a cold look.
"You can't keep her away from me forever, Jennifer. I'll contact a lawyer if I have to."
In spite of the situation, Jenny fought the urge to laugh. Her husband absolutely hated lawyers.
"Leave," she repeated shortly, "now."
"I'll be back," Morgan told her with a cold look, "Mark my words, Jennifer."
Jenny rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the way her heart was pounding in her chest as she closed the door, locking it securely behind her. When she finally turned away from the window after making sure that Morgan Shepard had indeed left the premises, her hands were shaking so badly that she dropped the towel she'd been holding.
"Who opened the door?"
Jillian peered around Elisabeth's legs slowly, her eyes wide.
"I did. I know I'm not supposed to, but I didn't know, and—"
"Never open the door for that woman ever again. Do you understand me?"
"I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean—"
"Do you understand me?" Jenny repeated, her voice harsher than she intended.
"Yes, Mommy," Jillian whispered.
Though she knew it hadn't been Jillian's fault, Jenny was still too shaken to think properly, and when she pulled her phone from her pocket, she had to force her fingers to cooperate.
"Yeah. Gibbs."
"Jethro, where are you?"
"Finishing up paperwork. Should be home in about an hour."
"Leave it. Come home now."
"Jen, you and I both know that—"
"Come home now, Jethro," she repeated.
He must have sensed the urgency in her voice because he finally agreed to leave his work until the morning, and after he'd assured her that he would be home within twenty minutes, Jenny finally hung up, still trying to remember how to breathe. She could feel Elisabeth and Jillian watching her as she returned to the living room, pulling Aries into her lap, needing his silent comfort, and when she sent her daughter to her room, Elisabeth looked at the older woman worriedly.
"Jenny? Who was that woman? Was it really your mother?"
Jenny nodded, glancing over her shoulder to see if Jillian had truly left the room.
"Yes," she answered finally, "but she wasn't really my mother. She's just the woman who gave birth to me. She abused my sister and me every chance she had until she finally ran off with one of my father's friends. When she tried to come back, he kicked her out, and it was honestly the best thing he could have ever done for us. I...she randomly comes back every so often, demanding a place in our lives, and...oh, shit...I should call Heather and warn her."
She picked up her phone, calling her sister rapidly, and as soon as she answered, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Jenny. What's up?"
"Heather, are you at your house?"
"Yeah. Miranda and I were just sitting down for dinner. Why?"
"Make sure your doors are locked. Morgan's in town. She just left my house."
"Wait...your house? How did she find out where you live?"
Jenny shook her head, still trying to figure that part out for herself.
"I don't know. I don't care. She didn't get in the house and right now, that's all I care about. She saw Jilly, though."
"Shit, Jenny...yeah, I'll...I'll go lock the doors now. Thanks for letting me know."
"Be safe."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you, too."
As Jenny hung up the phone, she joined Elisabeth in the kitchen, looking at the food the younger girl had been preparing before she'd been interrupted.
"What are you making?"
"Steak tips marinated in garlic butter."
Jenny smiled, finding it somewhat amusing that Elisabeth knew both her and her husband's tastes so well. Then again, after being part of the family for ten years, she supposed it was to be expected. When the front door opened minutes later, she knew her husband was trying to figure out why she'd locked it, and as he entered the kitchen, he frowned at the sight of the glass of bourbon she'd just poured in her hand.
"Something wrong?"
"Morgan was here."
Her words were so unexpected that at first he couldn't comprehend them, and when she nodded towards the living room, he followed her, not even questioning it as she walked up the stairs. She closed their bedroom door behind her, not noticing that it didn't latch, and when it swung open again slightly, Jillian crept quietly out of her own room.
"What do you mean 'Morgan was here'?" he asked, his voice betraying his confusion.
"Just what I said," she snapped, her fear giving way to anger, "Did I stutter?"
"Okay. Just take a breath, Jen. Did she hurt you?"
"Of course not, but she was here, Jethro! On our fucking front porch! She saw our daughter! Do you know how hard I've worked to keep her from finding us? From finding Jilly? If she ever laid a hand on her, I would kill her myself! Don't you remember everything she did to us? To Heather? She nearly killed both of her daughters, what makes you think she wouldn't do the same to ours?"
Her voice was steadily rising, her hands shaking violently, and Gibbs took a step forward, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Take it easy, Jen," he said quietly, "She didn't touch Jilly, and you're right about one thing: if she tries, she'll pay for it with her life. I'm not going to let anything happen to her. To either of you."
Jenny shook her head, angry tears filling her eyes.
"I'm not worried about me. I can take care of myself. But she found us, Jethro. Who's to say she won't come back when we're not home and taking her? She'd do anything to get her, you and I both know—"
"You really think Elisabeth would let her hurt Jillian? Don't you remember how she attacked DiNozzo and McGee the day we met her? She'd destroy Morgan. And I would honestly pay money to see it."
Jenny met his eyes, but she wasn't entirely convinced.
"She pushed me into a stained glass window when I was Jilly's age," she whispered, "the exact same age. I remember being so scared, so terrified of her, of what she would do next."
"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around her, holding her against his chest, "but you don't have to be afraid of her anymore."
She shook her head, trying to make him understand.
"I'm not afraid of her. I'm afraid of turning into her. What if...Jethro, you and I both know that we've been incredibly lucky with my illness. But what's keeping me from snapping one day and hurting her? I could never live with myself if that happened. I wouldn't want to. If I hurt Jilly...I—I don't think I could—"
"Shh...Jen. You're not going to. You're right about us being lucky. We have been. Extremely. And when you feel yourself reaching that level of anger, you've always removed yourself from the situation. You're very good about that. Always have been. You care more about other people than yourself, and in this instance, it's a good thing. You're going to be just fine."
He kissed her forehead gently, running his hand through her hair, and when he gave her a smile, she returned it weakly.
"I'll be right back. Gonna go say hi to Jillian."
She nodded, and as he left the room, she sank down on the bed, her head falling into her hands as she cried.
When Gibbs made it into his daughter's room, he found her flipping through a book slowly, and he smiled at the undeniable resemblance to Jenny. There was no denying that she was their daughter, and as her door closed, she glanced up, smiling at him when she noticed him.
"Daddy! Hi! You're home early!"
He nodded, leaning down to give her a kiss, and ran his hand over her hair slowly.
"Had to. I missed my Jilly Bean too much to stay at a boring office all night."
Jillian giggled, kissing him again, nodding when he asked if she'd had a fun day, and as she closed the book she'd been reading, her blue-green eyes met his cautiously.
"Daddy? Is Mommy mad at me?"
Gibbs frowned, looking at her in confusion.
"Of course not. Why would she be?"
"Because I opened the front door when that lady came here. Daddy, who was she? She wasn't very nice to Mommy."
He sighed, sitting down on her bed and lifting her up next to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he spoke.
"You're right. That woman isn't nice. And if you see her again, I want you to tell me, Mommy, Elisabeth, Aunt Heather, Aunt Miranda, or any grown up you know. Okay? She's a dangerous person, and we don't want her around you."
Jillian nodded, still looking confused, and Gibbs frowned, his eyes taking in every detail, from her troubled eyes to the frown on her pretty face.
"What's wrong, honey?"
"Daddy, why would she do something so mean?"
He frowned, wondering what had brought on this line of questioning.
"What do you mean?"
"Mommy said that woman abused her and Aunt Heather. Isn't abuse when you hurt someone you know? Like hitting them or kicking them because they did something bad?"
"Not exactly, sweetheart. See, when someone abuses another person, it's because they're sick. They have an illness, and they hurt people that they are supposed to care about."
His words jolted something in her memory, and she frowned.
"Like Mommy's illness?"
Gibbs looked at her sharply, trying to figure out how in the world she'd heard about that. They were always careful not to discuss Jenny's illness in front of her, opting to wait until she was old enough to understand before telling her.
"How do you know Mommy has an illness?"
"I heard you talking," she admitted quietly, "the door was open, and I...is Mommy okay? She seemed really upset."
Smiling as he pulled Jillian into his lap, Gibbs kissed her cheek, feeling more proud of her than he had before.
"You're a very perceptive little girl," he said with another smile, "You get that from your mother. She always sees things that other people don't, and I think you're going to be just like her when you grow up. Your mother is fine, honey. She's a little upset right now, but it's nothing that a big hug and kiss from her favourite little princess wouldn't fix. Why don't you go see her before dinner?"
"Okay, Daddy."
She hopped down from his lap, her long red hair flowing as she ran from the room, and as he shook his head walking down the stairs, Gibbs couldn't stop himself from laughing.
The quiet knock on the door made Jenny raise her head up from her hands, and as it swung open, she found a little girl of ten years, tall for her age, with long red hair, pale skin, and eyes that were a stunning combination of both her parents. It was the most welcome sight she could have seen at that moment, and she smiled, holding out her arms.
"Hi, Jilly Bean. What are you doing?"
Jillian ran to her, hugging her tightly, and as she threw her arms around her mother's neck, she kissed her cheek, a bright smile on her face.
"I wanted to come see you and tell you how much I love you. You're the best mommy in the whole world."
Jenny laughed, looking at her suspiciously, and tilted her head.
"Did Daddy tell you to say that?"
Jillian shook her head.
"No, he's downstairs waiting for dinner. Hey, Mommy?"
"Yeah?"
"Why was that bad lady saying she was your mommy?"
Jenny sighed, thinking about what she was going to say, and finally she shook her head.
"Because she is, baby. But she's not a nice mommy. She was a mean one, and she's very dangerous. That's why I want you to tell me if you ever see her again. Okay?"
Jillian nodded.
"Did she hit you when you were little?"
Jenny nodded, pulling Jillian up into her lap and kissing her cheek.
"Among other things. But don't you worry, Jillian. She's never going to hurt you. I promise."
She held her against her chest, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, and after a long moment, she kissed her cheek again, smiling down at her.
"Come on, Jilly Bean. Dinner should almost be ready, and then it's time for your bath."
"Can we play Scrabble after bath time?"
Jenny nodded.
"Only if you promise not to flip the board when you lose."
Jillian laughed, taking Jenny's hand and pulling the redhead towards the steps.
"I promise."
"Good. Because you're going to lose."
"I am not!" Jillian protested.
"Are too," Jenny countered, smiling at her.
"Am not!"
"Are too."
Gibbs smiled at their argument, reaching out to hug them both as they made their way into the living room. As they relaxed before dinner was ready, Jenny and Gibbs both indulging in a single glass of bourbon, the former marine didn't think his life could possibly get any better. And that was just the way he liked it.
A/N: And there you have it! Hope you enjoyed!